UFJ Considers Selling Affiliate
To Bolster Financial Position

By

Natsuo Nishio Dow Jones Newswires

Updated June 7, 2004 2:19 p.m. ET

TOKYO -- UFJ Holdings Inc. of Japan is considering selling its consumer-finance affiliate, Aplus Co., in order to jettison some risky loans and raise cash to strengthen its financial position, a person at UFJ close to the matter said.

The major Japanese bank has been in talks with several financial institutions from other countries on a sale of the struggling consumer-finance company and aims to find a buyer by mid-July, the person...